Bug Squad

Have you ever seen a lady beetle, aka ladybird beetle, aka ladybug, take flight? Have you ever photographed it? It's early morning, Aug. 20. A lady beetle is snacking on aphids on our native milkweed plant (where the monarchs are supposed to be, but aren't!).

If it's Friday, it must be Friday Fly Day. The calendar crawls slowly sometime, but its numbers do not lie. It's Friday Fly Day, all right, which means it's a good day to post an image of a fly, this time a robber fly.

Identity crisis! If honey bees could talk, they would be "BEE-wildered" at all the bee emojis out there that don't resemble them.

Have you ever seen a green-legged praying mantis on a green leaf? Praying mantis expert Lohitashwa "Lohit" Garikipati, identified this species as a subadult male, Stagmomantis limbata, perched in a patch of African blue basil in our family's pollinator garden.

The Almond Board of California (ABC) just announced that registration is now underway for its 50th annual Almond Conference, set Dec. 6-8 at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in downtown Sacramento. It's a gathering of folks from both the almond and bee industries and beyond.